The present invention relates to apparatus for marking and shaping the hem of a skirt, coat, dress or the like, with inserted lengths of thread.
A skirt shaping and marking device by which such a tacking seam is made, is described in DT-OS No. 1,610,797, wherein the material to be marked is held between a pressure plate and a material deflector by means of a lever which can be swung by hand. The lever is held in this working position with one hand, while the thread is manually pulled using a separate needle, by the other hand through a needle guide in the pressure plate and the material deflector. The end of the thread is secured by means of a clamping device in the form of a slide, while the working position of the lever is maintained. After securing the end of the thread, the thread is moved manually against a fixed cutting blade at the end of the needle pulled through the needle guide and the thread pulled through the folds of the material is cut off. The material held between the pressure plate and the material deflector is then released again by resetting the slide and lever.
The operation and handling of this well known skirt shaping and marking device is very difficult. Particularly when inserting and cutting off the thread, special care must be taken to ensure than the cut piece of thread is retained securely in the material and that the thread is not pulled out of the needle.
It is the purpose of the invention to improve on the known type of skirt shaping and marking device in such a way that a simple and easily performed operation allows all processes to be performed automatically, while it is ensured that a piece of thread is inserted into the material, cut off and held therein securely in every operating procedure.